Complaint about the New Paper here: http://tnp.sg/sendmail/0,4137,TalkToUs,00.html?
The Electric New Paper :Article put monkeys in a bad light
13 October 2010
I REFER to the article 'Monkey grabs food from pram in a flash'.
The experiment that was carried out by The New Paper staff - placing bananas and peanuts in a pram near the forested area on Rifle Range Road - was unnecessary and regrettable, as it is already an established fact that monkeys will be tempted by food in their path.
It is precisely this treatment that fosters unnatural behaviour - a dependence on humans for food and a boldness in demanding food. That is why the authorities have fines in place for people who feed the monkeys.
The article overall put the animals in abad light, through no fault of their own. Asaresult, it does little about promoting kindness and respect of wild animals in their natural habitat.
More information on human-macaque communities along the urban jungles of Singapore can be found online at www.spca.org.sg/humanmacaque.html
DEIRDRE MOSS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION
OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
